With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Era took in the news coldly without a sound, though his fists clenched and his nails dug itno hsi flesh, his knuckles near white. It wasn't a suprise, since he had long suspected that his old acquainatnces had one by one disappeared over the days of loneliness; yet it was still jarring to hear it with his own two ears. "So...even Yamamoto-Genryusai.... that guy..." He closed his eyes. he had recalled meeting the old man back in the Academy once during an exhibition bout, and had mistaken the man's fiery Shikai for a Bankai...He wasn't just powerful, he was at a level of masters of masters. What had happened that had wiped out so many Captains and even a man such as he...? It was... sickening to imagine.
Andthe other Captains. He recalled meeting a Shinigami who had defeated a thousand Hollows, a man of the Onmitsukidô, proud, and all-powerful... the Shinigamis who had offered him to join their lunch under a blooming Sakura tree, the beautiful Captain with the snake, who had given him rest in her Division even though he didn't belonged... Era felt... pained. His body was burning witha fever, but he still felt extremely cold. It was scary. In these few years, everything had...
"Captain Retsu-Unohhanna...." Era whispered. Of course. She was both wise and benevolant, experienced beyong her years, and a master of both sword and healing. She would be the ideal replacement. Yet.... that meant another healer had taken over the duties of the 4th Division.
Era threw his head up, his dark linen hair falling behind his shoulders. "What a pain..." He mumbled dully. He was glad for the rags that hid his eyes. "This is really..." For once, Era was at a loss of speech. "...I need a moment..."
Gillroy had believed he hit the captain's back but after he pushed him away he realized they had locked blades. The captain was insane. His grin stole the spotlight. Gillroy heard chatter nearbye. They were just distractions. Gillroy grabbed his leg. Blood was dripping like a rain of blood. It was not getting any better. His chest had another cut that seeped into the ground forming a puddle of blood. Gillroy was losing blood fast. He watched as the man rushed at him. His speed was increased and Gillroy assumed his strength had as well. Hierro could only do so much. It had saved him so far but from now on he would have to face the pain. Gillroy gripped his hammer with both hands. He slid his hands wide along the pole like bottom. He held it like a spear. Hammers are completely offensive while spears had defensive capabilities. He would do an overhead block. The yellow skull burst and let out a scary amount of reiatsu. The man lifted his blade. Gillroy felt confident, too confident in that case. He raised his hammer like a spear, sideways. The head was facing the left. The sword hit the pole like part that Gillroy held. Gillroy used Hierro and used as much reiatsu he could to prevent death.
The hammer crushed under the power. The blade pushed down and Gillroy pushed up. Slowly Kenpachi started to win. While being blocked the blade ran down his forehead. It cut deep. A burst of blood sprayed onto the ground like a fountain. Gillroy pushed up with all his might but the sword slowly went down cutting anything in it's way. The sword ran down Gillroy's nose, mouth, and then his chin. Blood dripped into Gillroy's mouth. The blood just ran into his mouth. He was swallowing a mixture of blood and spit. The hammer and sword were clashed together but the sword was still cutting Gillroy. Gillroy watched as bleachers fell in the background. They were crushed under reiastu from Kenpachi alone. Gillroy's reiastu was more focused on the fight than bleachers. The sword ran down from his chin to his chest. It ran right next to Gillroy's previous wound. The blade stopped as it reached his upper abs. The sword pushed into Gillroy's stomach. The farther it went the more pain roared in Gillroy's body. The hammer was stopping it from going to far but the blade went farther and farther forward. Blood seeped out of the stab wound and trickled onto the sword wedged in Gillroy's body.
"Too ba...d. Thiss iss go'n' to end. Ha...he...ha," Gillroy said spitting out the words slowly. The blade would soon pierce an internal organ. That would mean instant death. He had about ten minutes. Damn. It was not enough time to play around. Gillroy snarled. He felt blood trickle from his forehead into his mouth. It was good that the blade did not strike his neck. It went from the chin to the chest. Gillroy tasted the blood and spat it out in Kenpachi's face. He watched as the blood hit the man's face and covered it with blood. It even was aimed at the eyes. This would temporarily blind him. The red faced man seemed suprised. Gillroy snarled, looking at Kenpachi.
"Gillroy Umizake. D'n't you fo'g't it. Shini....gam....i," Gillroy said slowly. The blood spit was insult to injury. It seemed to drip down his face. Gillroy had much blood in his mouth, in fact he had enough to cover every inch of Zaraki's face. Gillroy let out a small burst of reiastu followed by a burst of reiatsu enough to destroy buildings in an instant. It was worth five seconds. This was the strongest blast of reiatsu Gillroy had displayed. It was a mix between Kenpachi's reiatsu, hate drive, perfection drive, and his stored reiatsu. He used the stolen reiatsu to his advantage.
"Ultimo Baile, El Toro," Gillroy said breathing in a gust of air. The air mixed with blood in his mouth. This attack was a desperate attack. It used all of his reiatsu and reverted him into his original form and made him unable to use El Toro for twenty four hours. It was a kamikaze attack at this range. Gillroy was deadlocked with Kenpachi who was shoving his blade into Gillroy. Gillroy would die in seven minutes if not reverted into his original form and then in the next few hours treated medicaly heavily. He closed his mouth. His stomach grew in size. The width and height made him look like a plum. Fire seeped out of his mouth. The attack was not entirely fire based. This meant at this range Gillroy would be affected as well. The attack was a fire ball from his mouth. Enough to burn anything from skin to a zanpakuto. Anything it touches instantly disinegrates. He knew the captain would take it head on. It bought him time. The fireball had a reiatsu bomb in the core which explodes on contact and sends a firey and reaitsu filled blast in all directions. It was time. Gillroy pushed Kenpachi back. They were four feet apart. Gillroy opened his mouth and a ball of fire aimed at Kenpachi's stomach. This was perfect timing. There was no way Kenpachi could run away because he was attacking and at close range. The ball made contact and exploded.
The book. A book fell onto the ground. It made a loud noise. Only to Gillroy. Only he could hear it. Master Tallinn was waiting for him in the white dessert. Gillroy was in mid air. Falling. The book seemed to go farther and farther away. Gillroy hit the ground. The explosion was big. Bigger than kamikaze boy's. It was strong enough to send a few light flames toward the two vizards and captain. But by the time the flames reached they were no stronger than a lighter flame. It gave him an opening. Gillroy felt his head bang against the burnt ground. He felt his body rip apart. It's all over, he thought to himself. He was dead. Or at least he thought so.
A book hit him on the head. The blast sent him into the school and the book fell due to the impact. Gillroy tilted his bloody head toward it. Master Tallinn. He was in his original form. His hollow hand covered in blood reached for the book, touching it with one finger. Gillroy felt reiatsu rush to him. He was not ready to die. His hand hit the ground with a thud. Gillroy took his normal hand and pushed against the ground. He took his hollow hand and used it to also push against the ground. He stared at the ground. Blood dripped from his face. The cut Kenpachi had made was bleeding badly. He had to leave. Now. He put his knee on the ground followed by his other knee hitting the ground. He felt like a dog and spit blood. He used his arms and legs to pushe the ground down and himself up. He stood. Not tall, however, he was hunched over and looked as if he was drunk. He couldn't stay still. He looked down. He was missing part of his body. His left side abs were gone. He had hit no organs but the wound seeped blood. Hierro was the only thing keeping him from unleashing a spray of blood that would kill him. His chest and lower body was still in contact.
Gillroy reached behind him. His hollow hand's index finger touched the sky and a black portal was formed. Squares of darkness combined to make a portal. Garganta. He fell into the portal. Literally fell. He fell backwards keeping his eye on the blast.
"You and me captain. We are more alike than you may believe. You are a lousy fighter. After I train with Master Tallinn I will come back. I gaurantee it. And...You....Will be dead!" Gillroy shouted falling backwards. If the man heard him he would never know. He held the book in his left hand. On it, it said, The history of the most powerful arrancar. The portal closed. It closed until a slot, enough to fit a face, was left. Gillroy watched as earth's creations burned.
"Perfect," Gillroy said before blanking out. The portal closed. A portal formed and a body fell into white sand. The body crashed and a blast of sand rippled the ground. A body layed there untouched. It held a red book. His body covered in blood.
Missing parts of his body, Gillroy asked himself out loud, "Am I dead?" Gillroy closed his eyes peacefuly.
"...Ooh?" Era snapped out of his stupor. There was suddenly something, a building power... a dangerous amount of reiatsu being drawn, no, sucked by the breath of the Arrancar Gillroy. The whole area changed, and souls died by the dozens, as the street rapidly became a death zone. A morbid slience filled the dry place, as though a drought had sucked it clean of mositure.
This is...!
A compression. A fusion. And soon... a release. That much, Era knew.
"Get the fuck away!" He yelled, and started up almost jarringly, standing up so fast his head began to spin. The boy disappeared in a series of shunpo back, but even that far was no guarantee that the release of so much heat and reiatsu wouldn't touch him. This was a power beyond even that of Satsu's Bankai- an Arrancar's dying wish, and every single atom of the souls that it had devoured to reach that level cried out in deadly reesonance. Already it was spreading, alarming fast, a wave of death, a ball of heat the surface of the sun.
There was little time. Era only just barely made it clear away. He'd just have to hopw that Karel and Satsu had shared his reflexes and escaped the power that boiled the air itself. The Arrancar exploded, and a force strong enough to generate a small earthquake rocked the town.
Panting slightly, Era stood a few miles away, escaping the blast, but only just narrowly. If he had been four or five shunpo slower... there was no telling how much agony he'd be put through now. With a start, he looked left, then right; there was no sign of either SHinigami or Vizard. Had they escaped? And what of Kenpachi, who had taken the blow up front? Even the Undead might not survive an attack like that...
The Arrancar's move to block his attack made the large man smile broadly. So, the Arrancar was finally going to stop running around and actually fight? Though, now that the Shinigami was patchless, it was sort of a stupid idea, but the Arrancar did have a big ego.
When their weapons met, the large man laughed and began to push down with his one arm, slowly empowering two of the Arrancar's arms and cutting into the flesh of the large creature's face.
His laugh only got louder and the Arrancar gave out more and more, allowing his blade to cut deeper and deeper, slicing past the Arrancar's facial features and exposing a flow of constantly dribbling blood.
Kenpachi Zaraki roared with laughter, his eyes getting wider with amusement as his blade began to push into his chest. Were he not enjoying this so much, he might must push forward and slam it into the Arrancar's heart, but he decided against it. The fact that the Arrancar was not giving out of their lock amused the tall captain.
The Arrancar continued to struggle against the obviously stronger man as Kenpachi's blade entered his abdomen, getting painfully near to the Arrancar's vital organs. It was invigorating, seeing so much determination in the eyes of the hollow before him.
"Ultimo Baile, El Toro."
He raised an eyebrow, "Eh?"
Suddenly, all the moisture seemed to be sucked from the area around him, the souls of many entering the Arrancar's mouth. It caused the captain's eyes to widen with shock. So, the Arrancar had one more card to play.
The Arrancar's stomach expanded and he knew something was up, subsequently, the Arrancar used his last bit of strength to push the infamous captain back. His eyes widened as a large bomb of reiastu and fire was flung at him, making contact with the man's abdomen.
There was an explosion, engulfing the entire stadium with extreme heat and power, knocking over the few remaining buildings within the area.
By the time the smoke cleased, the Arrancar was gone.
There was a bright yellow reiastu that flickered about, pushing away the remnants of smoke, revealing a still standing Kenpachi. He was panting deeply, with blood pouring from his stomach. The top half of his clothes had been completely blown off, remnants of his captain's haori fluttering in the wind. The tall captain's skin was also burned and cracked so bad that it looked like it hurt to breathe. Still, the Shinigami who had rightfully earned the title of the 'Demon' picked up and sheathed his sword before rolling his neck.
"Gillroy Umizake. D'n't you fo'g't it. Shini....gam....i."
He smiled, knowing that they would meet again soon. With that, he slowly turned and limped his way towards the group.
Karel reappeared next to Era, he was completely unscathed by the blast. Karel was one of the fastest Captains in Soul Society, his swordsmanship and speed played hand in hand. At the distance he already was from the Arrancar, it would have been disgraceful to let himself be caught in the explosion. His eyes studied Kenpachi as he limped his way towards them. "This man is a monster......and a fool" Karel thought to himself. It was miraculous that he had managed to survive that blast, but he must have been pretty stubborn not to try and avoid it. "So your still alive, Zaraki" Karel stated coldly. Karel drew his sword from its sheath, the clean and distinct scraping sound filled the air. Karel lifted his sword and pointed it at Kenpachi's neck, the tip of the blade hovering just inches from his flesh. "You're strong, extremely strong, I cannot restrain my sword any longer, It wishes to cut you in two, to bathe in your blood" This was far from the truth however, Karel's zanpaktou disliked fighting, he was only expressing his own desires. Karel's grin faded. "But there's no point in doing so now, it wouldn't be a proper feast if my opponent wasn't at full fighting strength." He said coldy, the excitement leaving his voice. Karel slid his blade back into its scabbard, with a quick scraping sound followed by a click. Karel turned around without another word, his Captain's haori waving vigorously in the wind. A large senkai gate suddenly appeared in front of him, the bright doors slid open slowly as he approached it. Within a few seconds, the Captain's form vanished inside, the gate remained open as it waited for the rest to pass through its doors, back to Soul Society.
Last Edit: Aug 18, 2009 1:40:00 GMT -5 by Yu'Karaya
Post by SatsUlquiorra on Aug 18, 2009 16:52:34 GMT -5
Satsu let out a large sigh as he appeared behind Era. "Geez, that guy is such a copy cat." He said almost agrivated at the similarity to his Tenma Myaku. He glanced over at Era, the tired, panting Era, and smiled. "Say, why dont you come back with me to the Soul Society?" He asked almost laughing, his past agrivation from before seem to leave just as fast as it came. Was he bipolar? Or just really easy going? Or maybe he has ADD. Whatever the reason Satsu seemed happy again, most of his wounds have healed up.
"That Kenpachi really is an oni... oh, nice job healing, by the way. You sure got some regenerative powers." Stalling for time with random comments, Era avoided looking at Satsu in the eye though it was virtually impossible with that cloth around his eyes.
"It's been... years since I returned..." Era had no home. He was abandoned, and then taken into custody by the Spirit King. Then he was abandoned again.
In that time, he soon learnt to call 'home' whatever place he slept at. A rock, a tree, or just plain open grounds...
And in the years at the Shinigami Academy, life had almsot been as harsh as it was outside, but there was a bed to sleep on and a place to return to.
For him, that had been his home , once, at least.
"Haha... what is the feeling?" The young boy laughed half-heartedly. "Like an old dog returning to its master...huh? Well, i'm half a dog anyway, so..."
He stepped before the portal Karel ahd opened, staring at its thin lines with a look that spoke of melancholy and regret. Soul Society. After so many years...
"...Satsu, " He said quietly. "The Head Captain now is... Unohanna Retsu, was it...? I'd like to... talk to her... can a meeting be arranged?"
He took one last look , torn, at the world he had been living in for years to come, then stepped into the portal to Soul Society.
